{{2013_08_12_t1.jpg}}
{{2013_08_12_t2.jpg}}
{{2013_08_12_t3.jpg}}
[[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/de/doku.php/jn_de_2013_08_12|Deutsche Version]] [[Start|| Wiki Start]]
[[topics_collection_v|| Topics Collection v ]]
======Creation - Day Five ...======
Monday, Aug 12, 2013. We are reading the creation story, as it is recorded in
the first biblical book "Genesis" (1st book of Moses). After the creation of
1) light and darkness /day and night, 2) heaven and earth, 3) ocean and land,
plant and trees, and 4) lights seen from the earth surface, we now come to
the "fifth" creation day. We read:
{{2013_08_12.jpg }}
**The fifth day ...**
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds [flying things] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
(Gen 1, 20-23)
God created living creatures - this is described here. He started in the water. And
then the birds are described, which fly in the sky. Every creature is created
"according to its kind".
{{ 2013_08_12_2.jpg}}
I have just been re-reading about what my fellow
scientists have written about the creation of the
animals in the oceans and about the evolution of birds. Among scientists it seems
consense currently, that life started in the oceans - which would be perfectly
in line with the above text.
**A first evolutionary account? ...**
With the creation of the birds this is more difficult,
in particular we are lacking a coherent scientific theory. Some theories see
the development of birds coming from fast moving animals, as a next evolution
step. Others see them coming from animals which lived on trees, as a tool to
get down quickly when raptors chase them. Modern techniques have the potential
to tell us much more about the development lines ...
Today, we investigate the evolution of life with tools from **evolution biology** and
from **genetics**. The basic idea is that we search for **structural dependencies** of
animals. Similarities in simple basic structures point to joint ancestors, where
modern species have evolved from these by adding more complex structures. Genetics
studies the joint genetical structures in cells of various type.
The biblical creation story has some elements or our modern way to think. It
presents the creation from simple basic structures to more complex ones - starting
with the physics of our universe, to the earth, land and ocean, to plants and
trees, fish and animals and - as we will see soon - humans. Often, it is said that
the first evolutionary thinking comes from the early Greek philosophers. But
looking into the biblical stories, they have been telling long before how God
evolved life - though without reasoning about the exact mechanisms.
But of course, the biblical story is much more than just a description of the
evolution of life. It also relates life to the Lord, to the creator. It relates our
environment and every individual to the God which is behind and around and in
everything, with creation being an expression of his creativity and activity. Here,
I would like to express my astonishment which I feel again and again, **how modern
these texts** are, which are coming from a time more than 2000 years ago (recall
that Moses lived 1300BC and King David lived 1000BC)!
(Roland Potthast)
[[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/doku.php/topics_collection_v|... more texts]]